If I visited with visions Think what fun we’d have, asking the incorporeals for tea

Or maybe lunch with two or three wraiths, supper with a few shades What a lovely place the world would be!

Let me elucidate ethereally I feel that it would be, the only time I’d really speak freely

And I would move among the atoms and talk with the phantasms Laugh and sing and stalk the ectoplasms And they could talk to me!

The world of spirits and phantoms is available to you. Understanding the methods of connecting with the other side using recording technology can allow you to communicate with the dead.

If you have a smartphone, you can start immediately.

The basic principle of recording Electronic Voice Phenomena or EVP is that you record yourself asking questions much as you would when using a Ouija board, and then listen back for audio cues that the spirits were answering out loud, but sub-aurally.

The term Instrumental Trans-Communication (ITC) was coined by Ernst Senkowski (the recipient of the first honorary Nobel Prize for afterlife and paranormal scientific investigation) in the 1970s to refer more generally to communication through any sort of electronic device such as tape recorders, fax machines, television sets or computers between spirits or other discarnate entities and the living.

This includes visuals which may appear seemingly inexplicably on photographs – AKA spirit photography – or film.

White Noise – a fictional film based on genuine research and experiences by investigators in the field explores ITC and its possibilities.

Some specific devices were developed to record EVP – a variety of Ghost Boxes, Ether Filters, and the Spiricom, whose inventor claimed the device was built to specifications that he received psychically from a scientist who had died six years previously. Generally speaking, they created white noise then scanned the wavelengths for anomalies.

If this is your first foray into EVP, downloading one of the many available free apps to your phone is a good place to start speaking with the great beyond.

Go into a quiet and comfortable part of the building in which you’re experimenting during the hours of darkness. The spirit world is most active between 9pm and 6am, so aim for that time period.

Light the room softly with dim lights and consider cleansing it by burning sage or diffusing lavender oil. Finding a place with a lot of psychic residue would be a good option for trying to record EVP, so the older the building the better.

Some proponents of EVP have suggested setting out a small amount of alcohol as an offering to the spirits, as this can be helpful in attracting them.

I recommend a cocktail named for the occasion. Drink it only after the session ends, as you will need a clear head and make sure you pour a few drops onto the ground first for the departed “One for me, and one for my homie”.

EVP

E lderflower liqueur such as St Germaine – 1 shot

V iolet liqueur such as Monin or Miclo – 1 shot

P each schnapps such as Archers – 1 shot

Combine these elements in a chilled shaker and agitate with ice. Strain into a cold glass and top up with Prosecco. A haunting combination. Garnish with a peach slice.

Recording Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP)

Hit record on the app, introduce yourself using your full name and clarify your intentions: “I wish to listen to what you have to say”, or “Is there any benevolent spirit here who might be interested in talking?”

Sit and wait. You can either continue to ask questions, ask to speak to a specific person, or sit silently recording.

During the session, pay close attention to any sensations you might be experiencing, emotional or physical. Make a spoken note of them on the recording itself for comparison afterward. Pay particular attention to:

Cold and warm spots

Tingles or prickles on the back of your neck

Feelings of apprehension

Any sounds or whispers you hear

It is very unlikely you will hear any clear message at this point. Watch for spikes on the recording when you cannot hear any obvious sound.

When you feel ready to stop, switch off the recording. First, it is best to say a few words aloud: “Thank you for speaking with us. Goodbye.” Professional mediums and ghost hunters take this step very seriously, especially if they’re in a domestic space and they want to remain safe from poltergeist activity.

You should do the same, and if you feel as if there is still any entity present other than yourself, surround yourself with a circle of household salt for protection and to deter any interference attributable to discarnate beings.

Listen closely to the recording afterward, after you have switched on the lights and banished any dark shadows. Turn up the silent parts as loud as they’ll go and listen closely. Pay attention to any spikes you see to know where to focus. Isolate those places in the recording and try to decipher what they say.

The following recording was obtained by the method of leaving a blank tape in a recorder for one year in a drawer. When we played it back, we heard this:

Write down what you hear – noting as you do, any sensations you experienced during the session – and bear in mind that you may be looking at a conversation with a single phantasm, or you may have messages from a whole range of discarnate entities such as spirits, nature energies, or beings from other dimensions.

It is possible to construct an apparatus which will be so delicate that if there are personalities in another existence or sphere who wish to get in touch with us in this existence or sphere, this apparatus will at least give them a better opportunity to express themselves than the tilting tables and raps and ouija boards and mediums and the other crude methods now purported to be the only means of communication – Thomas Edison